Artist Statement:

The Weight of Space explores how architecture and institutional spaces carry the emotional weight of history, ideology, and the visible presence of authority. This thesis looks at how physical structures reflect broader systems of hierarchy, control, and governance, while revealing the instability inherent in power itself.

The systems used to dominate people are often the same systems used to control and exploit the natural world, relying on rigid structures of authority that fail to contain those over whom they seek dominion. I am interested in the tension between the authority these structures project and the fragility of the systems they represent, and in how that tension becomes visible through subtle disruptions within these structures that hint at forces beyond their control. Like any system of restraint, the images are layered, intertwined, and not immediately evident without looking beyond the surface.

Beginning as photographs of buildings that feel institutional, imposing, or emotionally charged, they were converted into slide transparencies before being projected against textured surfaces and fabric. Photographed again, they form the basis of each new composite image. Additional photographs of patterns, shadows, and natural forms allude to the innate resilience and resistance of nature to imposed dominance.

The resulting images are dreamlike, timeless, and reminiscent of a silent film era projection on a movie screen. These moments feel quiet but persistent, and they speak to resistance that is always present, even when it is not immediately visible. Printed on metal, they resist the physical and metaphorical containment of matting and framing, creating space for reflection, as well offering a reminder that nature, including humankind, endures.